Moves from the Treasury and Finance Ministry of Turkey to combat money laundering with crypto digital assets have gained fresh momentum of late.
Regulators are to take new measures aimed at increasing vigilance on digital transactions, with their attention focused on suspicious activity potentially involving fraud and illegal betting.
According to updated policies, all crypto asset service providers will be required to obtain details about the source and purpose of funds. Platforms must now request a transaction description of at least 20 characters from users involved in any crypto asset transfers.
To tighten oversight, new time-based limitations will be introduced for withdrawal transactions that do not follow the travel rule. Users will have to wait a minimum of 48 hours before withdrawing crypto after a purchase, deposit, or exchange. For initial withdrawals from new accounts, the waiting time extends to 72 hours to allow for transaction assessment.
The ministry also targets stablecoin transfers with strict financial caps to prevent the movement of illicit funds. A daily limit of 3,000 dollars and a monthly cap of 50,000 dollars will apply to all stablecoin transfers.
Non-Compliant Crypto platforms face regulatory actions
Providers that fully comply with the travel rule requirements may offer double these limits, depending on verification standards.
The rules surrounding the travel rule demand full identification of both the sender and receiver in transactions. Required data includes names, addresses, wallet IDs, birth dates, and other personal details that can confirm identity.
Crypto transfers made for market liquidity, inter-market arbitrage, or market making will remain unrestricted. These transactions must, however, be documented clearly and conducted under strict platform supervision to ensure legal compliance.
Minister Mehmet Şimşek pointed out the fact that failure to meet the new regulatory requirement would entail penalties. They are legal and financial sanctions and potential license denial or withdrawal for services violating standards of compliance.
